Course Search
Have you wanted to cruise the Blue Danube and see the cities along its route? Are you intrigued by the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, or the stupas of Burma, yet never had a chance to travel to them? Have you ever considered walking with the penguins in Antarctica or sleeping amid animals in the Serengeti? Come discover the beauty, fascination, and sheer joy of travel to places you've never seen or those you'd love to revisit from the comfort of your home. Sep 8: Blue Danube cruise: Budapest to Prague Sep 15: Iceland, Greenland & Antarctica Sep 22: Asian Architecture & Sacred Spots: India, Nepal, Burma, Bhutan, Tibet, Turkey (or some of these) Sep 29: Africa & Middle East
Outcomes:Exposure to elements of nature, culture and lifestyle, architecture, and more through a photographic travel journey to places around the world.
Format: 70% Presentation, 30% Q&A and Group Activity
By delving into some of the hottest controversies on the Supreme Court's docket for the 2022-2023 term, gain a sophisticated sense of the Court's role in our governmental system and the kinds of cases it typically takes on. Observe the play-by-play of arguments on appeal, deconstruct the actual briefs filed, and get a sample of the questioning at oral argument. See firsthand how lower courts, advocate lawyers, and amici ("friends of the court") shape the Court’s perception of social/economic/political issues as they become "legal" issues.
Outcomes: Analyze and discuss current events within the context of Supreme Court.
Format: 70% Lecture, 30% Discussion
This course will explore current events with a focus on constitutional law at the Supreme Court and in other corridors of power. Largely driven by what’s “hot” in the news when the course is taught (and responsive to issues that class members wish to focus on), this course will dig beneath the surface perspectives presented by the media and pundits. We’ll focus on legal doctrines and tradeoffs behind these controversies. For example, assuming that the Court continues to take cases about vaccine and mask mandates, the course would focus in-depth on the legal issues about personal liberty and religious freedom that underlie these controversies.
Outcome: Analyze and discuss current news events within the context of legal doctrines and precedents.
Format: 80% Lecture, 20% Q&A / group problem-solving
Do global challenges and foreign policy matter as we approach U.S. Congressional and other elections? This fall, they may matter more than ever. Russia-Ukraine crises can dramatically affect gas prices, and COVID-19 variants can abruptly change immigration policy. Join us in sorting through these challenges under the guidance of a retired U.S. diplomat, with insights based on 29 years of negotiating complex issues with dozens of allies and adversaries. We will focus on analyses and trends based on student interests and provide informational resources to understand even more.
Outcomes: Increased knowledge of the sources, design, goals, and implications of major issues in U.S. foreign policy. Refined and augmented analytic abilities, especially on relationships between U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Improved public speaking skills through class discussion and participation. Exposure to foreign policy research resources, including government, think tanks, and other data, studies, and reference materials.
Format: 60% Lecture, 40% Q&A
Jewish civil law is not simply a system historically developed by Jews, but an inherently Jewish institution that reflects and promotes a set of values that is uniquely Jewish—and historically remarkable and revolutionary. We will learn about six primary Jewish values from their conception in Hebrew Scripture through their development in the teachings of the sages and into the practical application of Jewish civil legislation.
Outcomes: Learn the purpose of the law. Question if repentance has a role in the legal system, or is it strictly a personal matter. Compare ownership as a legal status or an ontological reality. Recognize if humans by nature are essentially good or bad.
Format: 70% Lecture 10% Discussion 20% Q&A
Does life exist beyond the Earth? Will we ever find it? What could it look like? Answers to these questions might be within reach in the next couple of decades. The scientific search for extraterrestrial life – astrobiology – has evolved dramatically since its earliest days. Along the way, the exploration process has forced us to re-examine our assumptions about life itself. We’ll talk about the extreme ranges of life on Earth and how those discoveries help NASA and its science partners explore our solar system and our galaxy. While we may not shake hands with aliens any time soon, we have realistic expectations of finding smaller lifeforms that could alter our ideas about the universe just as profoundly.
Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of: The range of extreme life forms in our only current laboratory – the Earth. Current thinking about the wide range of properties that could define life elsewhere. New science tools and missions that will try to find evidence of extraterrestrial life.
Format: 90% Lecture, 10% Discussion
Steve Murray has been a life-long astronomy and space enthusiast. His past careers have included research engineering, college teaching, and aviation. Currently, he’s a freelance science writer and NASA Solar System Ambassador, where he provides STEM presentations to community groups. Click for more information.
This lecture will explain how in the early 1900s the United States constructed an aquatic path connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans across the newly created nation of Panama. To do it, the Americans conquered disease, moved massive amounts of earth, built an ingenious system of locks, and even created a massive lake. Professor Blaine Davies explains how despite disease, political obstacles, and daunting civil engineering obstacles the canal was conceived, engineered, and opened for ocean-to-ocean transit over a century ago.
Outcomes: Understand how and why the Panama Canal was built.
Format: 90% Lecture, 10% Discussion
Do you want to learn more about Cuba, but do not want to read voluminous and tedious history books? This course will give you information about Cuba while entertaining you with an intriguing and compelling story. The novel “Havana Fever” (“La Neblina del Ayer”) by writer Leonardo Padura describes two significant periods in Cuban history: the 1950s music scene and the 1990s Special Period. Reading the novel is not required, but it will enhance your learning. We will discuss the contrasting history of these two periods and learn about Cuba then and today while enjoying Padura’s creative writing. In the process, we will also learn about works of Cuban literature and music through the centuries.
Outcomes: Contrast history of two time periods. Learn about Cuba then and today. Review Padura’s creative writing. Examine Cuban literature and music through the centuries.
Format: 60% Lecture, 30% Q&A 10% Clips of Cuban music
August 22 - October 16